Two-dimensional or “matrix” barcodes, such as QR codes, are an information storage and transmission technology that represent data in the form of a visible matrix. Typically, a two-dimensional barcode records data information with particular geometric patterns distributed in two-dimensional directions via black and white, or in some cases multicolored, graphic symbols. In most two-dimensional barcode encoding formats, a logical “0” and “1” bit stream of the sort generally adopted in computer systems is utilized to form graphic symbols that correspond to binary representation of text and numerical information. Once formed, the graphic symbols can be read by an image input device or a photoelectric scanning device, such as a dedicated bar code scanner or a smartphone, in order to process the information encoded within the graphic symbol.
Two-dimensional barcodes may commonly be used in a variety of roles, such as product identification, product tracking, anti-counterfeiting, security, and general marketing. Of the two-dimensional bar codes in use, QR codes specifically are popular due to offering a fast read time and a greater storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes, and due to the ease with which a person can scan a QR code with a smartphone or other device. Other standards of two-dimensional barcodes that may be used include Aztec Coding, Datamatrix, PDF417, MaxiCode, QR variants like SPARQCode, or color barcode formats like Microsoft's High Capacity Color Barcode (HCCB) encoding format, among other two-dimensional barcode standards.
However, the popularity of the QR code format has some drawbacks when a barcode is desired to be used for security or authentication purposes. With the growth of the technology, and with the growing ubiquitousness of devices configured to scan barcodes, such as smartphones, methods of coding and decoding the QR code have become well known and widely available. As such, in the fields of security and anti-counterfeiting, QR codes generally cannot be used alone in order to authenticate a product, as a counterfeiter may be perfectly capable of decoding a QR code on a particular product, and subsequently generating a valid-seeming QR code to attach to a counterfeit product.
Other 2D barcodes may suffer from the same disadvantages. As a particular 2D barcode design becomes more popular and more accepted by the public, the ability to decrypt the barcode may become available to more members of the public, which may include counterfeiters. This may, in turn, limit the value of the barcode as a security and anti-counterfeiting tool. However, a 2D barcode design that has not become popular with or accepted by the public may be of limited value for any purposes other than as a security and anti-counterfeiting tool, and may even be of limited utility in that role. For example, if a particular 2D barcode design that is used to mark a product does not have a publically-disclosed method of decrypting it, and requires a user to download a proprietary app to decrypt it, few users may bother to download the app or scan the product barcode in order to find out more information about the product.
This means that the company whose products were marked with that particular 2D barcode may have limited ability to track their products after sale by determining which products are being scanned and where. It also means that the company whose products were marked with that particular 2D barcode has a significantly lessened ability to identify counterfeit products by looking for identical product barcodes being scanned in multiple different places. For example, if a product barcode is scanned in New York on Monday, and an identical product barcode is scanned in California on Tuesday, the company may be able to identify at least one of the two products as a counterfeit. However, if users do not elect to scan their products, the company may not learn about the matching barcodes and may not know to take action. As such, using a proprietary barcode format that may not easily be decodable by an end user may not be a desirable solution either.